Once you notice the signs, it’s already too for you to wait. There’s no cure or solution that can end its spread. In spite of all efforts, there aren’t tomato varieties that have the right protection. That’s why ToBRFV, also known as the rugose virus has created a great deal of trouble within the tomato industry.

In November of 2018 the ToBRFV first outbreak was identified in Germany within seven greenhouses for tomatoes located in North Rhine-Westphalia. One month after that, in the month of December, Italy reported the first diagnosis of the disease and it’s been a steady snowball across tomato plants all over the globe. Growers affected by the disease must either endure losses to production or thoroughly disinfect and pray that things will improve – which is not feasible when cultivating in soil as the disease remains for a long time. So, what do the consequences of the virus on commercial trade in tomatoes? In light of the fact that demand is never slowing down or decreased, has a country that imports large quantities of tomatoes like Germany experienced it in their tomatoes?

An entanglement

“Most tomato products used in Germany originate from other nations, and among them might likely be infected varieties,” says the Julius Kuhn Institute (JKI). “Since that the fruits consumed by consumers are not in contact with production facilities We are currently not seeing any negative impacts on the local tomato farmers. The most likely method to spread the virus into German greenhouses or fields could be via infected plants or seeds that have been imported. Thus, the testing process has been accelerated and both professional growers as well as government officials for phytosanitary matters are well aware of the possibility of infections caused by virus. The way in which this may influence supplies, we’re uncertain.” The only thing we can say for sure however is that it is known that the presence of ToBRFV within German tomato greenhouses has been confirmed. “In the past few time, there’s been few isolated instances of ToBRFV Germany within tomato production installations, which have was controlled by phytoprotection authorities,” the JKI states.

Also, it becomes difficult to assess how much rugose has affected the market for tomatoes. The price of consumer goods also does not provide any insight. “We are seeing prices rising for the past number of years now,” says Fabrizio de Giacomi, who is the head of the wholesale markets department at the Borsa Merci Telematica, an Italian authority that is responsible for the movement of goods within Italy.

“At the at the same time, it’s hard to know how much the phytosanitary and energy crises concerns have impacted the availability of tomato products.” The one thing that is certain is that the price is quite bizarre, Fabrizio points out. “Over the past two seasons, tomatoes rarely had a significant increase and this is even with Dutch as well as Italian productions coincide.” While the cost isn’t always increasing but it hasn’t been substantially down. “With the inability of exports into the Russian marketplace, I had hoped the prices of tomatoes to drop a little. Actually, they’re the reverse since they have risen in recent times.” But, it’s hard to figure out the exact cause of these increases. “There’s not a single cause that influences trade. It’s often not only phytosanitary problems, but environmental conditions, energy prices as well as other factors which all influence prices rising.”

It’s the same argument made by Hans-Christophb Behr, the head of Horticulture/Organic farming/Market research at AMI which is a firm that studies the German market for agricultural products. “It’s difficult to find precise information about the impact of ToBRFV in the import of tomatoes since the disease requires farmers to take certain steps promptly, including the quarantining of plants, if not eliminating them all. Due to this, the public rarely talk about that. This is why there’s not much research on the effect of ToBRFV on tomatoes imported into the country.” Similar to Hans-Christoph’s Italian colleague, Hans-Christoph also states that there are additional aspects on top of rugose virus which could affect the importation of tomatoes. “ToBRFV is one factor, however it is also a reason an increase in cost of energy and poor financial results during previous seasons in Spain such as.”

Needing answers to price

The price comparison shows that prices were essentially identical over the last three years. “During the months of January and February in the year 2021-22-23, standard size TOV was priced similarly across the three-year period,” Hans Christoph says. The January of 2021 retail price of TOV in the German market was EUR 2,51. The price in 2022 was EUR 3,26. In 2023, it was back at EUR 2,79. So, in Hans-Christoph’s words although it is true that ToBRFV has caused a change in tomato imports into Germany however, there isn’t sufficient information that is accurate enough to identify this.

Italian cultivators fighting the disease

In spite of Hans-Christoph’s assertion growers do not want to discuss their issues dealing with the rugose disease, this Sicilian farmer spoke out about the issues they face with the rugose disease. “In all of the Sicily region, we are dealing with rugose virus for a while,” Salvo Astuto from Op Platinum. Salvo Astuto of Op Platinum. “The situation is identical for all growers. In the beginning, there are the plants that have issues regarding the vegetative stage and also the fruit. Tests on the lab show there’s a brand new virus that’s on the greenhouse. There are many Sicilian cultivators had problems in exporting their tomatoes to Germany due to that.”

It’s true that anything that does not kill you can make your body stronger, this is true for the rugose disease for farmers such as Op Platinum. In the wake of the epidemic in Sicily numerous companies have begun adopting unprecedented phytosanitary practices. “Bigger and more structured companies like ours are able to swiftly implement and adopt practices that would prevent this virus from spreading to the greenhouses,” Salvo remarks. “For example, we’ve been able to stop growing on soil switching completely towards hydroponics.”

It is not the case in different nations. In the Netherlands as an example there are companies that have shifted crop varieties due to the recurrence of the disease. Together with the energy shortage the tomato crop acreage in the winter months diminished.

Despite the fact that a lot of Sicilian farmers were struck with the virus exports towards Germany rose. “Even in the most difficult times there was no decrease in the volumes. This could be due to the fact that as prices rise, it’s more convenient to sell less top quality products.” It’s not just about fluctuating market prices and what farmers have to offer. “Our exports towards Germany are up recently because our products met the requirements of German consumers. is highly sought-after by customers. Our focus is to provide our customers with items that aren’t just tasty but are also extremely healthy, which you can see in our zero nickel-residue tomatoes as well as eggplants. However we export the best products. We make a cautious selection process, and any product that isn’t up to the standards we set for ourselves doesn’t get any place, clearly.”

Although there’s been a few issues with Italian exports of tomatoes into Germany, Salvo says, having a head start and adopting ever-more hygiene practices will help reduce the impact of this issue.

Belgian farmers switch their crop

Geert Koyen who is the sales director for the German-speaking area in Cooperatie Hoogstraten too opens up regarding their struggles with the rugose virus. However the sales manager also points out the fact that greenhouse agriculture is being impacted by a variety of problems at the same time. “In the winter months, we saw a reduction in our production because of the crisis in energy. Demand was high however we were unable to meet it as we only had very little production.” To add to the energy crisis, there was the ToBRFV as well. “We didn’t have it all to ourselves in the sense of as are many growers in Europe. We’ve taken a number of strategies to put it in check, and we were able to come from that situation with a good product.” Incredibly, the tomato growers who were struggling in this regard, switched over to growing cucumbers. “It was fascinating to observe that some growers put tomatoes down to ease the pressure then switch over to cucumbers for a time.”

While ToBRFV sure affected supply of tomato however, it’s nearly impossible to determine the extent of that impact because many factors are that are at work, such as the current energy crisis, climate variations, and more which affect tomato the tomato industry. But what’s certain there is a need is ready to be taken advantage of.

The article was previously published within the Fruit Logistica 2023 issue of Primeur. You can read it here. issue.

Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies